2 dead in apparent murder-suicide at San Jose mall

SAN JOSE, Calif. 
Two people are dead after an apparent murder-suicide at a busy San Jose strip mall, police said Saturday.

Officers called out to the shopping center on the 1000 block of East Capitol Expressway around 9:30 a.m. Saturday found a man and a woman on the ground, each with at least one gunshot wound, said San Jose police spokesman Officer Jose Garcia.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Their names have not been released. Police have not determined the relationship between the two.

Officers also found a toddler seated in a child safety seat inside a parked car that police believe belongs to one of the adults, Garcia said. The toddler, a 17-month-old girl, was unharmed. She was placed in the care of Santa Clara County Child Protective Services.

No additional details have been released, but police have cordoned off a portion of the center's parking lot while detectives interview witnesses.

A person who was at a nearby McDonald's at the time of the shooting told the San Jose Mercury News (
http://bit.ly/IK7CMt
) that after hearing what he described as a "pop," he saw two people lying face down on the pavement.

Corey Rentie said that both appeared to have been shot in the head.

"It must have been a small-caliber bullet because there was no splatter," he told the newspaper.

The shopping center, whose tenants include the McDonald's and other fast-food restaurants, was closed while detectives investigate, police said.